Bailey O'Neill: Darby Township School Bully Victim Gets Facebook Page, 'Prayers for Bailey O'Neill'
Bullying victim Bailey O'Neill died on Sunday, the day after his 12th birthday, after suffering from a medically-induced coma. He was attacked by two other students during recess.
A Facebook page dedicated to the young boy was created after his attack in early February and is now encouraging people to sign petitions to pass an anti-bullying bill in Pennsylvania.
The Facebook page "Prayers for Bailey O'Neill" focuses on bullying awareness and to stop the harassment for the victims.
The Facebook page posted a petition asking Pennsylvania to pass anti-bullying House Bill 2464, which has been signed by over 700 people so far.
According to the proposed bill on change.org, the bill will define bullying as, "unwelcome written, electronic, verbal or physical acts or gestures where a student feels coerced, intimidated, harassed or threatened."
The bill wants the Department of Education to develop materials and provide training regarding bullying and it's asking for school boards to have anti-bullying policies. The bill also asks for further investigations regarding O'Neill's death.
The Facebook page posted a site on gofundme.com asking for donations that will go to O'Neill's family. According to the site, over $4,700 was raised so far.
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has also spoken out about Bailey O'Neill using his own Facebook page. The page reads that Rice reached out to Bailey's family by speaking with them on the phone for 45 minutes.
"I don't know if we will ever get to a point where bullying is actually considered a CRIME, rather than 'kids being kid' or a 'playground incident,'" reads his Facebook post.
Rice ends his post on O'Neill with, "Bailey - my little buddy, I will not let you become just another bully statistic...you are my inspiration and one more angel that will help me continue the fight for kids everywhere. You are going to help me save lives. RIP my little friend."
O'Neill attended Darby Township School, which flew it's flags at half-mass today.
